By the time one patient came to psychologist Lisa J. Heaton, PhD, it had been more than 15 years since she had last seen a dentist.

“She would walk into the operatory and be so
upset she would start to cry and say, ‘I can’t do this,’”
remembers Heaton, a clinical assistant professor of
oral health sciences who collaborates with dentists at a
special clinic at the University of Washington’s School
of Dentistry. “For the first two appointments we saw
her, she wouldn’t even sit in the dental chair.”